Hosting group games at parties are a great way to inject fun into the occasion. If you’re bringing together groups of friends of different cliques, group games also make for great icebreaker topics, so everyone warms up to each other.
But what should happen if you’re not prepared with many materials and still want to have a group game going around? Enter Slap Jack – a group game to help make your next party even more fun than before.
Features of Slap Jack Game
| ★ Game Name | Slap Jack Game |
| ★ Group size | small |
| ★ Age | any |
| ★ Type | stationary |
| ★ Skill | vocal / acting |
| ★ Place | indoor |
| ★ Time | up to 10 – 15 min |
| ★ Preparation | no |
| ★ Materials | cards |
Aim of The Game
In Slap Jack, the only aim for every player is to have the most cards in their hands. With Slap Jack, the possibilities to overturn the results are endless, making it a fun party game that brings laughter wherever it is played.
Group sizes for Slap Jack
Slap Jack is an ideal game for groups of 4 to 6 people. It’s suitable to be played by groups of any ages and may even be a great way to help children recognize numbers along the way.
If you have large groups in a room, try breaking them up into smaller groups so everyone can enjoy the game simultaneously.
Preparation and Materials
A deck of cards and everyone’s hands at the ready are the only things you’ll need for a fun game of Slap Jack.
How do you play Slap Jack?
Now that you have everything you need for Slap Jack, here’s a guide on how to play Slap Jack with your guests:
- Have your group sit in a circle. Shuffle your deck of cards and equally deal them to the players. Make sure all the cards are facing down and your players don’t look at them.
- You’re free to select who starts first, but the sequence must either run clockwise or counterclockwise only. You’re not allowed to skip any players in between.
- To begin the game, have the first player put down a card facing up. When they put down this card, they must say “Ace” or “1” to indicate the value of the card. This is followed by the next player who says “2” and “3” subsequently up to “King”. The numbers will reset as “Ace” or “1” after “King”.
- If the number that is called out matches the card that has been put down, all players must quickly slap the discarded pile and say, “Slap Jack”.
- The first player with his or her hand on the pile will get to keep the pile in their hands. Have the players shuffle their remaining cards in hand and repeat steps 3 and 4.
To win this game, a player must gather all (most) their cards in their hands. If a player is left with no cards, they will lose and be eliminated.
Alternative Variations to play Slap Jack
If you’re looking to add more layers of fun to Slap Jack, you could also consider introducing the “Doubles” element to your game.
To do this, players will simply have to pay close attention to the cards that are being discarded. If one player discards a “3” and the second player also discards a “3”, then the first player who slaps who discarded pile gets to keep all the cards in the pile!
This extends to the other numbers on the deck too and won’t matter even if the number being called out does not match the number of the card.